Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/5117/-1/135/
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CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF SOCIAL SECURITY: CAOSA Technical Meeting Held In Anguilla
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This week (August 20-22) Anguilla hosted the 13th Technical meeting of the American Commission on Organisational and Administration Systems (CAOSA) at the conference room of Malliouhana Hotel and Spa at Meads Bay. It was the first time that such a high-powered Social Security meeting was held on the island.
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Anguillian and visiting officials at the head table
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The two and a half-day conference was planned for this island in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Anguilla Social Security System. The meeting had as its theme “Performance Management: Achieving Mission Results Through Performance Management.”
The Caribbean and Latin American delegates were listed as attending from the United States, Argentina, Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Belize, Panana, the Netherlands, Bahamas, Barbados, Antigua, St. Vincent, Trinidad, Jamaica, Dominica, St. Kitts-Nevis, Grenada, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Turks & Caicos Islands and the Dominican Republic. They were accommodated at Malliouhana Hotel, Paradise Cove Resort, the Anguilla Great House and La Sirena Hotel.
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Governor George and Deputy Governor Reid (right) with delegates and other
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The welcome address at the opening ceremony was delivered by Timothy Hodge, Director of Social Security in Anguilla and Vice President of CAOSA. He welcomed in particular Dr. Gabriel Martinez, Secretary-General of the Inter-American Conference on Social Security (CISS), based in Mexico; Wilhermus Franssen, Counselor of the Board of Directors of the Social Insurance Bank of Netherlands and Treasurer of the International Social Security Association (ISSA), based in Geneva; and Rogelio Gomez, President of CAOSA and Associate Commissioner of International Programmes, Social Security Administration based in the United States.
Mr. Hodge was pleased that two interpreters were provided for the conference and said it was historic in Anguilla that there were simultaneous translations to facilitate the English and Spanish Language delegates. He said it was an exciting meeting with a packed agenda and hoped that the delegates would take time to enjoy the beauty and hospitality of Anguilla.
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The main section of delegates at the Conference
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“We are very please to host this meeting in Anguilla and it is being held here as we celebrate our 25th Anniversary of our Social Security System under the theme: “25 years of Achievement – a lifetime commitment,” he went on. “We have much to celebrate while we take in all which will be delivered in our CAOSA meeting. I am truly pleased that all of you have found your way here.”
Chairman of the Anguilla Social Security Board, Dr. Aidan Harrigan, said it was quite an occasion for Anguilla to host the august meeting of regional and international social security practitioners. He saw the theme of the meeting as a great motivation to the delegates to consider the responsibility the various social security systems have to ensure that funds are available to assist contributors in their sunset years.
Dr. Harrigan noted that there were a few conference sessions on risks involved and the need to meet the various changes and demands of social security systems in the regional and global environment. “Nobody is immune to change and we certainly, in Anguilla and other islands in the Caribbean, are now finding ourselves in a situation where we never thought that workers from many countries would end up here in Anguilla and other islands. So in a dynamic world those who are responsible for social security have to ensure that they continue adapting systems and structures and mechanisms to make certain that they deliver the results that are required.”
Dr. Martinez was grateful to the Anguilla Social Board for the opportunity for the meeting to be held on the island. He gave an outline of a number of upcoming events, including a health insurance seminar, which would be taking place later on in Colombia, Chile and Bogota and to which delegates were being invited. “The whole idea of social security is to provide assistance to people,” he reminded the practitioners. “We don’t want families to be anguished because when they get sick they do not have the resources to seek medical attention, and we don’t want them to get old and don’t have enough to eat…so we always have to keep in mind the various goals of the systems.”
Mr. Franssen stated that ISSA comprised 3560 social security institutions in more that 150 countries and that Anguilla was one of the energetic members. He said the Anguilla Social Security Board was eager to learn and share information and was very active in meetings. “We are very glad that Anguilla came to the ISSA family and I would like to congratulate the Anguilla Social Security Board on its 25th Anniversary,” he added.
Anguilla’s Minister of Social Security, Victor Banks, told the gathering: “We are proud of the continuing achievements of our Social Security System and we never cease to celebrate the vision of the father of Social Security, the Honourable James Ronald Webster, without whose leadership the system may have never been introduced.”
Mr. Banks believed that the CISS was playing a critical role in bringing attention to the issues affecting social security systems in the region and initiating discussions and workshops to create an environment for sharing experiences as well as solutions to common challenges. He was of the view that such a strategy could only lead to a more efficient and effective use of expertise and resources available in the region and internationally for the development of individual systems in this hemisphere.
“The theme ‘performance management’ has wide-ranging applicability,” he went on. “In fact it covers the whole gamut of particular objectives which systems may need to achieve in fulfilling their mission. It is for this reason that I believe that it should form part of an ongoing monitoring process. In other words, systems must not only wait until the actuarial review to identify areas of weakness, they must be measuring, analysing and adjusting performance in all areas and at all levels and at all times…
“I have touched on this important element of measurement in performance management because of the concerns which the young systems like ours in Anguilla must face up to when determining whether we are on the right track in this period which I refer to as the ‘east times.” I have pointed out time and time again that we are still in the comfortable position of amassing assets without the burden of paying out large benefits to contributors. In such a scenario it can be extremely difficult to adequately assess whether or not we are measuring our performance accurately.”
The Minister said that the challenges were so dynamic that there was need to find constant solutions to meet both the short and long term shifts in the paradigms which might have been recently constructed. He stated that a lesson to be learnt was that time was an important aspect of performance management in the context of systems in developing economies.
“Another element of performance management which I must touch on is the qualitative aspect,” Banks said, “The task of Social Security Fund management is not simply to protect the funds of its contributors but also to optimize the overall benefits of the fund to its contributors and their beneficiaries. This will include the involvement of the fund in the enhancing of the quality of life for the community it serves.”
CAOSA’s President, Rogelio Gomez, thanked the Anguilla Social Security Board for coordinating the meeting and for its hospitality as well as the other organising committees. He said all of the delegates were committed to the same principles – the betterment of the future for all of their citizens.
“The theme ‘performance management’ is to challenge ourselves to be constantly vigilant of the fact that our citizens have entrusted their funds to us to administer and manage in the best way possible,” he added. “They have also challenged us to be innovative. This is why we are here. We are here because we are going to learn from each other. There is no perfect solution or one way or doing it …but we are constantly challenging ourselves to do better and to learn more.”
The Vote of Thanks was given by Timothy Hodge. The ceremony was chaired by Maglan Richardson, Assistant Director of the Anguilla Social Security Board.
The conference programme included such topics for discussion as Change and Risk Management: Performance Needs Leadership; Improving Performance Management in Social Security; Metrics in the Chilean Social Security System: Tools, Results and Challenges; Balance Scorecards and Performance Management in Social Security; Balance Scorecard in the Caribbean: The TCI National Insurance Board Experience; and the Role of Performance Management in Achieving Efficiency; Effectiveness: The Grenada Experience; Model Change from Structural Management to Process Management; and Risk-Based Pension Supervision Model in Costa Rica.
There was a welcome reception for the delegates at Paradise Cove Resort on Monday evening, hosted by CAOSA; a cultural evening and barbecue at Johnno’s Beach Stop on Tuesday evening and a 25th Anniversary Dinner at Zurra Restaurant, Temenos Golf Club on Wednesday evening.